A driver crashed into a St. Paul school on Thursday, narrowly missing staff members inside the lobby, a witness said.
No one was injured, but the Hubbs Center for Lifelong Learning is expected to be closed until Monday.
Stephen Hunt, a substitute who teaches English as a Second Language, was signing in for the day “and before I knew it, a car had landed in the lobby,” he said. “It sounded like a large bookcase had fallen and I was quite startled.”
Hunt said he and two other staff members were about 5 feet from where the Ford Taurus came to rest inside the building on University Avenue, just over a block from Lexington Parkway. He and Kevin Burns, St. Paul Public Schools spokesman, expressed their gratitude that people were unharmed.
Police cited the 25-year-old driver for an instructional permit violation and failure to drive with due care, said Steve Linders, a St. Paul police spokesman. She showed no signs of impairment and the cause appears to be inexperience in driving, according to Linders.
The crash happened about 8:20 a.m.; classes start for the day at 8:30 a.m. Students and staff were sent home, and others were told the building would be closed Thursday, Burns said.
The car smashed through a wall and window, and stopped adjacent to the front reception desk, Burns said. The woman who was driving, who was alone in the car, immediately got out of the vehicle.
The district’s facilities staff is working to confirm the building’s structural integrity and repair the damage; the costs were unknown Thursday. With no classes scheduled for Friday, the school district anticipates classes will resume Monday, Burns said.
The Hubbs Center houses the St. Paul Public Schools’ Adult Basic Education, and is for adults who want to improve their basic skills, earn a GED, prepare for employment or post-secondary education, or learn English.